Roe'nika supported her Mistress as the searing pain in her chest gradually faded away. Quantum watched with concern, still seated on the Workstone, unshaken, however.
"They broke the barrier," Nekea said in between heavy breaths. Roe'nika knelt at her side, holding her close.
"Those damned people…,"she added seething.
"Which people, Mistress?," Roe'nika asked, concern deep in her voice.
Nekea recuperated, urging Roe'nika to help her up.
She answered as she rose.
"The Erref, the Inquest of Karakh. I could make out their insignia. And with them are an army."
Nhea gasped.
Roe'nika's brows furrowed.
A great sense of unease filled the Sanctum.
"Inquest of Karakh…Well isn't that something…"
Quantum's calm, almost amused voice cut through the unease like a hot knife through butter.
"I don't think you understand. They are the Inquest of Karakh, Quantum. They answer directly to the emperor. I wonder how they managed to even-"
"So they carry great importance, do they not?," Quantum asked. His tone was like that of a child. He clearly didn't understand.
Roe'nika stared at him with surprised eyes. She couldn't even get annoyed for him cutting her off.
"Yes, Quantum. They do. The real question is how they got here, and what they seek," Nekea said, giving Roe'nika an understanding eye.
Roe'nika wanted to say something, but her Mistress' calm silenced her.
The sunlight continually streaked into the sanctum. Quantum could feel the slight tremors. They were quite distant, however growing stronger.
"I can sense them. They march steadily towards this place.", Quantum said, turning. It looked as though he was staring through the wall behind him.
"More than two hundred soldiers approach on horseback. They are accompanied by a number of men on foot."
A divine accuracy rung in his voice.
Roe'nika marveled. She couldn't feel a thing. She had a lot of confidence in her ability to detect enemies from afar. The distance from the Blood Witch's abode to the barrier was about four hundred meters.Roe'nika could barely detect presences at around a hundred and fifty meters.
She had been defeated in an instant.
Quantum truly was Rahiel.
Quantum turned, and Roe'nika returned to her senses.
"Can you stop them, Quantum?", Nhea asked, a slight distress growing within her.
"I can," Quantum said.
His confidence was godlike. The silence in the sanctum shuddered with its intensity. Roe'nika felt the intense strength emanating from him.
A slight breeze passed through the sanctum, carrying red leaves along with its motion.
"However", Quantum began. His voice had darkened.
"I am not who I once was."
Nhea stared at Quantum, confused.
Nekea's eyes widened, as she smiled.
"Of course you've noticed", she whispered.
Roe'nika looked at her Mistress, puzzled.
"I am not as capable as I was. They will fall at my hand, definitely, but I will not escape unscathed."
His gentle reasoning permeated the corners of the shining sanctum.
"Besides this, however, I do not wish to battle."
Nekea stared with concern. A leaf landed on her hair, and Roe'nika brushed it off gently.
"I do not need to. I am not a war-god who feasts on the blood of warriors, picking my teeth with their bones. I depend on nothing but the One who made me. Again, they are no threat to me or to anything I hold dear. If I need to fight, I will. If I don't need to, I wont."
The sanctum hummed with his words. The air kept still, almost listening alongside them. Sunlight shifted as clouds passed.
There was a short silence.
Roe'nika broke it.
"So what do we do then? We can't simply abandon this place. It is our home. Neither can we fend them off either, if you aren't willing to fight with us…"
Distress permeated the essence of her speech.
Quantum turned his gaze to Nekea.
Thoughts battled within her mind, as she sought a way out. It was her mistake after all. She underestimated humanity's determination. She focused so much on rebuilding Quantum, that she forgot about her own defenses. Nekea knew it could have been prevented. That knowledge alone was like dipping her heart in acid.
She had never considered it before. But after seeing all the things she had seen, her past self seemed like a child. The funny thing was she hadn't sought it.
It had come to her.
It suddenly flashed in her mind, what would've happened if she had rejected Nhea, along with Quantum.
She sighed.
She was happy about the decision she had taken. Now, a higher power had bought her from the world.
She was free.
The sanctum sat still in anticipation.
"We move.", Nekea said.
Roe'nika gasped.
"But Mistress…", she argued.
"Roe'nika!"
The reprimand came like thunder, striking Roe'nika's heart. Her Mistress had never yelled at her like that before.
Roe'nika kept silent, her mouth hanging open.
"You cannot comprehend the true weight of what I saw. My speech alone cannot capture its magnificence.
Its power.
Its greatness."
Roe'nika was frozen, listening with wide eyes. It was all she could do.
"Roe'nika, I flew…I flew through the skies like a bird.", Nekea said. A smile widened on her face. Her voice was clearly different. It wasn't the cold, calculated Blood Witch. It was something unknown to Roe'nika entirely.
Something she had never seen before.
Nekea went on.
"I was unbound. Free. Even as my life shivered in the hands of the One, even amidst the fear hung on my shoulders like dead weights…there was still bliss within it. A happiness I had never felt before. I-I can't understand it…I just can't, Roe'nika. "
Roe'nika couldn't speak. She believed her beloved Mistress would surely stand by her side to defend their home. Quantum could take Nhea away.
The Blood Witch's abode was for her and her Mistress.
Memories flashed of the days when it was just the two of them. Not too long ago.
Roe'nika would watch her Mistress drink her tea, and then pout her face, as it was always bitter. She would always stop whatever she was doing, drag Roe'nika straight to the kitchen and teach her all over again. There was always a slight smile as she nagged her over and over again. Deep inside, Roe'nika knew her Mistress was happy with her.
Nekea was the one who had found her, when she was on the verge of death. Abandoned by her family. It wasn't a special case. Dropping dead weight was sensible. A one-eyed cripple like Roe'nika was a perfect example of such dead weight.
Always getting sick.
Always needing attention.
But attention was expensive, and her family was poor.
However, Nekea gave her hope. Something she never knew existed. Nekea had raised her up, when her own family had buried her.
Nekea became her family, and Roe'nika gave her life to her, to protect that family.
The Workstone glistened with the sunlight. The leaf Roe'nika brushed off shook gently on the grass.
Now, however, Roe'nika couldn't see that family anymore. It was fading away, slowly.
Deep inside, she wished she had never come across Nhea.
Roe'nika sighed, hanging her head.
"My apologies, Mistress"
It was beginning to feel like she was alone.
All over again.
"Please, Roe'nika" Nekea began. Roe'nika raised her head to meet her gaze.
"Trust me. Everything will be fine. When have I ever been wrong?" Nekea said.
Roe'nika saw it. Even her Mistress smiles had changed. They had become above-world, almost ethereal.
Roe'nika smiled in response to her Mistress words.
Only she knew however, how forced it was.
She turned her crimson gaze to Quantum who watched in silence, unfazed, as usual.
His cold eyes seemed to pierce everything within her. She hated it. A fear clawed its way inside her. Her eyes shook with a growing resentment, trying to fight back. But it was to no avail. His cold eyes were unbothered.
Ethereal.
God-like.
The fear only deepened with the tightening of her chest.
She quickly looked away.
Nekea turned to Nhea.
"Nhea, go into the storeroom before my chamber. At the very end of it, you will find a trunk. Open it up, and bring everything you find within it. Quickly."
In the distance, the tremors grew.
Nhea nodded sharply, and quickly run off.
In only a little while, she came back with a load of old garments in her little hands. She heaved as she dropped them on the ground.
"Are we going to pick clothes for Quantum?", she asked gleefully.
"Exactly.", Nekea replied, moving to pile.
Quantum watched with interest as Nhea and Nekea dug through old garments, tattered robes, and worn armor. Nhea's fluffy hair bobbed up and down as she hummed to herself.
She was clearly enjoying clothes picking, even in the face of closing turmoil.
Roe'nika watched on, disinterested. There was a lot on her mind. Her eyes would constantly lock onto Quantum's face, trying to read his thoughts.
The selection was over in a few moments.
Nhea raised a pair of old trousers, a leather chest guard and a long tattered dark cloak. An equally tattered shirt joined them, bloodstains within it, alongside it a pair of leather boots.
"I apologise for the poor state of these garments. They're the only ones I have that could fit you. They belonged to a fallen adventurer…", Nekea said, handing the clothes to Quantum.
"Don't bother. This is more than gold to me. I have no need for regalia. I only have to do what lies before me, even with the bare minimum," Quantum said, smiling.
His encouraging words rung through Nekea's heart.
Nhea beamed with smiles.
Quantum wore the clothes, and strapped on the old leather armor. He then wore the black cloak. It fluttered, and landed gently.
Outside, the tremors of the marching army filled the sactuary. The skies above became darker, as smoke and ash began to fill the skies.
"Now then," Quantum began, admiring his new boots.
Roe'nika readied herself.
"You should leave," he began. "The army has reached us already. They aren't tardy in the least," he added, slightly amused.
Nhea eyes shone with concern.
"Wait, what about you? You said you weren't going to fight…"
"Don't worry, Nhea. I shall reach you sooner than you think. I am only going to speak with them. After all, I need to know the motive behind their constant pursuit."
He rubbed her head gently, her hair passing in between his fingers.
Turning to Roe'nika he said,
"Roe'nika, take them out of this cove. Move down the hill, and head north. We'll make further plans when I return to you."
The authority in his voice was as suppressing as it was calm. It never fluctuated or wavered.
The clattering of armor could be heard outside. Grass was being trampled on by powerful hooves.
Roe'nika stared hard, and turned to her Mistress.
"Mistress, I shall gather the most necessary articles, and we shall leave, immediately."
Nekea stopped her mid-speech.
Her eyes glowing, she said, "My most necessary article is my freedom, Roe'nika. And it is within him."
Nekea gestured to Quantum.
The words hit Roe'nika hard, as she glared at Quantum.
She had no time to protest.
For her Mistress' sake, she would obey.
Roe'nika led the way, Nekea and Nhea following close.
They left the sanctum, Nhea's concerned eyes turning to Quantum one last time, before she disappeared.
The army stood outside.
Quantum began to whistle a tune, as he slowly headed towards the entrance to the cove.
It was a tune that came from the very depths of his soul.
"The star emerges…," he said, his voice darkening.
The smile he had disappeared, a cold expressionless face taking its place. He adjusted his cloak, tugging it at his neck.
"…and it shall devour the puny flame."